Spiegel said the new structure proposed by Lufthansa was aimed at attracting more capital from abroad as at present the majority of the airline must be German-owned in order to retain its flying rights in many countries.

Lufthansa said on Wednesday it was planning to adopt a holding structure and manage its core brand separately, following pressure from investors to simplify its operations and improve efficiency.

A Lufthansa spokesman on Friday confirmed it was planning to spin off its airline operations to a foundation, which in turn would be controlled by a holding company.

Supporters of a holding structure cite the example of IAG, which runs British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus as separate profit centres.

(Reporting by Sabine Wollrab; writing by Thomas Seythal; editing by Alexander Smith)